DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
DURtlAM,  N.  C. 


Rec’d. 




Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


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■y 


CHARACTER 

n 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  MAN 


By 

EDWARD  WARD  CARMACK 


Nashville,  Tenn. 

McQUIDDY  PRINTING  COMPANY 
1909 


Copyright,  1909 
McQuiddy  Printing  Company 
Nashville,  Tennessee 


/ 


/70 


C 


) 


INTRODUCTORY 


F all  the  men  who  have  figured 
H in  the  public  life  of  Tennessee, 

V no  one,  in  my  judgment,  has 

been  more  versatile  than  the  late  Sen- 
ator Edward  W.  Carmack.  Possessing 
the  higher  kind  of  talent  that  is  fitly 
entitled  to  be  called  genius,  he  adorned 
and  dignified  every  position  that  he 
held.  In  the  editorial  chair,  on  the 
hustings  and  the  platform,  and  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate,  he  never  failed  to 
command  a respectful  hearing.  It  will 
be  a long,  long  time  before  we  shall  see 
his  like  again.  As  the  years  go  by, 
men  will  still  be  telling  to  their  chil- 
dren and  to  one  another  the  story  of 
s 


550447 


INTRODUCTORY 


his  great  and  useful  life.  The  sincere 
thanks  of  his  thousands  of  friends  are 
due  to  the  publishers  for  bringing  out 
in  permanent  form  his  wonderful  lec- 
ture on  “Character.”  From  beginning 
to  end  it  moves  in  a high  region  of 
thought,  and  many  of  the  passages  that 
it  contains  are  supremely  eloquent.  I 
trust  that  it  may  have  a wide  circula- 
tion, especially  among  the  young  men  of 
the  land;  for  ,it  cannot  fail  to  do  good 
wherever  it  goes.  As  I write  these 
lines,  my  heart  grows  tender  at  the 
memory  of  my . dead  friend,  who  never 
espoused  a cause  in  which  he  did  not 
believe  and  never  met  an  opponent  of 
whom  he  was  afraid.  E.  E.  Hoss. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  November  10,  1909. 


4 


0 


CHAPvACTER 

OR 

THE  MAKING  OF  THE  MAN 


T no  time  should  a man  speak 
with  more  caution  or  under  a 
graver  sense  of  responsibility 
than  when ' he  speaks  to  the  young. 
Your  success  and  happiness  will  depend 
on  the  ideals,  the  conceptions  of  life 
and  duty,  which  you  hear  with  you  into 
the  world;  and  an  honorahfe  and  useful 
career  may  be  marred  by  a single  false 
precept  lodged  in  the  mind. 

It  is  in  childhood  and  youth  that 
character  is  formed.  The  minds  of  the 

young  are  plastic,  and  are  readily 
5 


2 6 4 4 "'i 


CHARACTER 


molded  by  the  hand  of  circumstance 
into  a vessel  of  honor  or  a vessel  of 
dishonor.  The  old  man’s  character  is  as 
iron  which  needs  the  forge  and  hammer 
to  chana:e  its  form. 

You  remember  the  story  of  Absalom’s 
rebellion.  You  remember  how,  as  King 
David’s  captains  went  forth  to  battle, 
he  gave  them  charge  to  deal  gently 
with  the  young  man  Absalom.  You  re- 
member how  King  David  sat  in  the 
gates  waiting  for  the  tidings  of  the  bat- 
tle upon  which  depended  his  life  and 
his  throne.  A messenger  comes,  pros- 
trates himself  at  the  king’s  feet,  and 
announces  the  joyful  tidings:  ‘‘All  is 
well.”  But  there  came  from  the  aged 
king  no  exclamation  of  joy,  no  words  of 
thanksgiving,  no  song  of  praise  — only 


6 


CHAEACTER 


the  anxious  question:  “Is  the  young 
man  Absalom  safe?”  A second  messen- 
ger comes  and  confirms  the  report  — 
the  enemies  of  the  king;  are  scattered, 
his  kingdom  is  established  forever.  But 
it  is  not  the  king  anxious  for  his 
throne,  but  the  father  anxious  for  his 
erring  child,  who  sits  in  the  gate. 
Again  from  the  trembling  lips  the  anx- 
ious question:  “Is  the  young  man  Ab- 
salom safe?”  It  was  a father’s  ques- 
tion, but  it  should  have  been  asked 
years  before.  If  David’s  love  for  Absa- 
lom had  been  as  wise  and  watchful  as 
it  was  fond  and  foolish,  he  would  not 
have  waited  nntil  he  had  lifted  his 
hand  in  wicked  and  impious  rebellion 
before  giving  charge  concerning  his  wel- 
fare; he  would  not  have  waited  until  he 


7 


CHARACTER 


had  died  the  death  of  a traitor  before 
asking  the  question:  “Is  the  young  man 
Absalom  safe?”  He  would  have  noted 
the  first  wayward  steps,  the  first  indi- 
cation of  a turbulent  and  reckless 
spirit,  the  beginnings  of  those  evil  as- 
sociations that  corrupted  his  nature,  and 
would  have  won  him  hack  to  filial  duty 
and  a righteous  life.  Long  before  his 
doting  father  had  become  anxious  for 
his  safety,  Absalom  had  gone  the  way 
of  death  and  ruin.  It  was  not  the 
spear  of  Joab,  but  the  blindness  of  Da- 
vid, that  wrought  the  death  of  the 
young  man  Absalom. 

^ Youth  is  the  raw  material  of  man- 
hood. The  old  man  is  simply  what  he 
began  to  he  in  his  youth.  Manhood 
can  only  mature  and  age  can  but  har- 


8 


CHARACTER 


vest  the  seed  that  were  sown  in  the 
springtime  of  life.  It  is  in  youth  that 
the  work  must  he  done  and  the  influ- 
ences brought  to  bear  that  are  to  mold 
the  character  and  shape  the  destiny  of 
the  man. 

I shall  deal  with  you  as  practical 
men  who  themselves  must  deal  with  a 
very  practical  world.  You  would  proba- 
bly prefer  an  address  ahoundinar  in  wit 
and  rhetoric;  hut  one  of  the  flrst  things 
you  need  to  learn  is  that  you  cannot 
always  get  what  you  want,  and  you 
may  as  well  learn  it  now  and  from  me. 
“Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest;”  and  ear- 
nest words  of  truth  and  soberness  are 
what  you  need  to  hear.  You  may  think 
that  when  you  have  quit  the  school- 
room you  have  quit  school.  In  reality 


9 


CHARACTER 


your  school  days  have  .iust  begun. 
Though  you  go  forth  from  one  of  the 
gi’eat  universities  of  the  land,  you  have 
hut  passed  through  a preparatory  school 
and  are  about  to  enter  as  a freshman 
that  great  university  from  which  you 
will  he  graduated  at  the  grave.  You 
have  hut  exchanged  kind  and  patient 
instructors  for  one  whose  tasks  are 
heavy,  whose  rule  is  harsh,  who  will 
show  but  little  indulgence  for  unlearned 
lesson  or  the  broken  rule.  The  world 
is  now  your  school,  experience  your 
teacher,  and  life  your  lesson.  But  if 
in  this  school  sloth  and  wickedness  are 
scourged  with  rod  of  iron,  diligence  and 
virtue  are  rewarded  with  happiness  and 
honor. 

What  you  have  learned  at  school  is 


10 


CHARACTER 


trifling  indeed  compared  with  what  you 
have  yet  to  learn,  and  much  that  you 
have  acquired  here  with  much  toil 
will  fade  from  you  with  the  great- 
est ease.  But  the  taste  for  study,  the 
habit  of  mental  application,  the  intel- 
lectual discipline  you  have  here  received, 
will  remain  with  you,  I trust,  forever; 
and,  indeed,  this  is  the  most  important 
part  of  your  education.  It  is  a good 
thing  for  a man  that  as  a hoy  he 
learned  to  play  ball,  climb  trees,  and 
turn  handsprings,  though  as  a man  he 
has  ceased  to  practice  these  useful  ac- 
complishments. And  so,  even  though 
you  should  fall  into  my  own  lamenta- 
ble condition,  and  not  know  a triangle 
from  a parallelogram,  or  whether 

“homo”  is  a noun  of  the  third  declen- 
11 


CHARACTEE 


sion  or  a verb  of  the  first  conjugation, 
it  will  still  be  a good  thing  for  you 
that  in  the  study  of  Latin  and  of  ge- 
ometry you  have  trained,  strengthened, 
and  developed  your  mental  sinews  and 
that  you  have  learned  how  to  learn. 

The  education  you  have  received  at 
school  is  hut  a tool,  an  implement,  and 
you  have  yet  to  acquire  skill  in  the  use 
of  it.  I once  heard  a story  of  an  old 
darky  whom  his  master  employed  to 
skin  a calf.  As  it  was  Christmas  and 
a holiday,  he  thought  it  but  right  to 
pay  him  for  it;  and  so  when  the  task 
was  done,  he  asked  him  how  much  he 
owed  for  the  job.  “A  dollar,”  replied 
Sambo.  The  old  master,  a little  shocked 
by  the  exorbitant  price,  said:  “Sam,  I 
don’t  think  your  time  was  worth  more 


12 


CHARACTER 


than  fifty  cents.”  “I  know  dat,  mars- 
ter,”  replied  the  old  darky.  “I  only 
charges  fifty  cents  for  de  time;  de  ud- 
der fifty  cents  was  for  de  know  hoiv.'” 
So,  young  gentlemen,  when  you  get  out 
into  the  world,  you  will  find  that  the 
important  thing  about  knowledge  is  not 
simply  to  know,  hut  to  know  how.  The 
learned  man  knows;  a practical  man 
knows  how;  and  the  man  with  hut  lit- 
tle knowledge,  hut  who  knows  how  to 
apply  that  knowledge  to  the  affairs  of 
life,  is  an  overmatch  for  the  man  who 
knows  everything,  hut  who  knows  how 
to  do  nothing.  The  knowing  that  is 
not  translated  into  doing  is  a tree  that 
hears  foliage,  hut  no  fruit.  A black- 
smith who  can  shoe  a horse  well  is  bet- 
ter educated  than  the  man  who  can 
13 


CHARACTER 


read  Greek,  but  cannot  make  a living 
for  himself  or  lend  a helping  hand  to 
his  neighbor. 

I have  said  that  you  have  just  en- 
tered the  great  University  of  Life. 
This  work  of  acquiring  knowledge  and 
of  learning  how  to  apply  it  will  go  on 
as  long  as  you  live;  and  while  life  is 
brief,  think  how  vast  a sum  of  knowl- 
edge a man  might  acquire  in  the  du- 
ration of  an  average  lifetime,  if  he 
would  only  learn  one  thing  every  day, 
if  , he  would  only  make  one  daily  addi- 
tion to  the  sum  total  of  his  knowledge. 
It  would  seem  that  no  day  could  be  so 
full  of  cares,  incidents,  and  pleasures 
that  an  alert  and  inquiring  mind  could 
not  learn  one  thing.  So,  young  gentle- 
men, whatever  may  be  your  occupations 


14 


CHAEACTER 


or  distractions,  make  it  an  infallible 
rule  of  life  and  let  no  day  pass  over 
your  bead  without  levying  upon  it  some 
tribute,  without  learning  from  it  some 
lesson.  It  will  astonish  you  to  find 
how  much  you  can  learn  by  habit  of 
attentive  observation. 

I shall  not  talk  with  you  to-day 
about  the  training  of  your  intellectual 
faculties  or  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge. Not  all  knowledge  is  to  be  found 
in-  books.  “Wisdom  crieth  in  the 
streets.”  I would  rather  impress  upon 
you  that  the  strongest  and  most  disci- 
plined mind  cannot  of  itself  bring  you 
honor  or  happiness,  cannot  make  you  a 
good  and  useful  citizen,  or  entitle  you 
to  the  respect  of  your  fellow-man.  The 
great  thing  is  character;  and  the  great- 


15 


CHARACTER 


est  men,  whose  names  are  honored  and 
revered  by  all  mankind,  were  great,  not 
because  they  were  mighty  in  intellect, 
but  because  they  were  grand  in  soul. 
England  has  produced  greater  intellects 
than  Alfred,  but  she  has  never  pro- 
duced a greater  man.  She  has  never 
produced  one  who  labored  with  loftier, 
purer,  more  unselfish  zeal  for  the  wel- 
fare of  his  country.  America  has  pro- 
duced abler  men,  perhaps,  than  Wash- 
ington, but  she  has  never  produced  a 
more  devoted  and  self-sacrificing  pa- 
triot. Not  long  since  a distinguished 
German  author  wrote  of  our  own  Rob- 
ert E.  Lee,  that  great  as  he  was  as 
a commander;  he  was  incomparably 
greater  as  a man.  And  this  is  the  kind 
of  greatness  I would  have  you  learn  to 


16 


CHAEACTEE 


admire,  and  it  is  from  such  great  and 
shining  examples  that  I would  have 
you  light  the  lamp  that  is  to  guide 
your  feet  in  the  dark  ways  of  life.  Let 
me  heg  you,  young  gentlemen,  not  to 
he  satisfied  to  achieve  a mere  reputa- 
tion without  achieving  the  character  to 
sustain  it.  The  mere  love  of  reputa- 
tion, of  self-advertisement,  and  desire  to 
have  one’s  name  “stand  rubric  on  the 
wall,’’  is  one  of  the  deadliest  forms  of 
vanity  that  ever  cursed  the  children  of 
men.  The  boy  who  fired  the  Ephesian 
Dome,  the  demagogue  who  fires  with 
madness  the  passions  of  the  people  and 
gives  to  destruction  the  slow  creations 
of  wisdom  and  of  years,  the  conqueror 
who  thunders  his  name  from  the  can- 
non’s mouth  and  writes  it  in  the  blood 


CHARACTER 


of  the  world— these  are  but  great  mani- 
festations of  that  little  vanity  which 
never  yet  brought  real  happiness  to  any 
man  and  has  brought  woes  unnumbered 
to  mankind.  And  this  vain  little  pas- 
sion is  the  plague  of  neighborhoods 
as  well  as  the  curse  of  nations.  How 
often  we  see  in  everyday  life  men  who 
are  eager  to  be  thought  what  they 
make  not  the  slightest  effort  to  be!  Un- 
derstand me.  I do  not  undervalue  rep- 
utation for  its  own  sake.  There  never 
was  a good  man  who  was  indifferent  to 
the  opinions  of  other  good  men.  What 
men  think  of  you  on  the  street  is  by 
no  means  to  be  despised;  but  the  main 
thing,  so  far  as  your  own  peace  and 
happiness  is  concerned,  is-  what  you 
honestly  think  of  yourself,  in  bed.  You 


18 


OHAEACTER 


may  derive  a hollow  and  transient  pleas- 
ure from  the  praises  of  your  deluded 
fellow-men;  but  when  you  have  retired 
to  the  solitude  of  your  chamber  and 
blown  out  the  candle,  you  will  see  in 
the  darkness  the  hypocrite  who  was  in- 
visible in  the  light.  Then  you  will  try 
to  kick  your  conscience  out  of  bed,  and 
you  will  roll  over  on  the  other  side  to 
get  away  from  yourself;  but,  in  spite  of 
everything  you  can  do,  you  will  look 
down  into  the  depths  of  that  whited 
sepulcher  and  shrink  and  wither  in  your 
self-contempt.  Trust  me,  young  gentle- 
men; there  is  one  man  whose  honest 
good  opinion  is  worth  more  to  your 
peace  of  mind  than  all  the  world  be- 
side. That  man  is  yourself. 

19 


-X 


CHARACTER 


“ One  self-approving  hcrur  whole  years  outweighs 
Of  stupid  starers  and  of  loud  huzzas, 

And  more  true  joy  Marcellus  exil’d  feels 
Than  Caesar  with  a Senate  at  his  heels.” 

So,  while  striving  by  all  honorable 
means  to  win  and  to  retain  the  good 
opinion  of  all  good  men,  remember, 
after  all,  that  a man’s  reputation  is 
only  what  men  think  him  to  he;  his 
character,  what  God  knows  him  to  he. 
And  remember  that  you  cannot  long 
pass  a counterfeit  character  for  the  gen- 
uine coin  on  this  shrewd  old  world; 
and  remember  also  that  if  you  have  the 
character,  you  cannot  long  miss  the  rep- 
utation. A genuine  coin  may  sometimes 
be  mistaken  for  the  counterfeit  until  it 
is  tested;  but  whenever  a counterfeit  is 
even  suspected,  its  currency  is  gone  for- 


20 


CHAKACTER 


ever.  You  test  the  genuineness  of  a 
coin  by  ringing  it  down  upon  some  bard 
substance.  Sooner  or  later,  young  gen- 
tlemen, tbe  metal  of  your  character  will 
be  thrown  down  upon  tbe  bard  stone  of 
adversity,  and  then  all  tbe  world  will 
know  whether  or  not  you  are  the  gen- 
uine coin. 

Let  me  impress  upon  you  that  no 
man  is  so  sure  to  lose  tbe  respect  of 
all  good  people  as  tbe  man  who  has  a 
morbid  craving  for  popularity  or  a mor- 
bid dread  of  unpopularity.  Saul  dis- 
obeyed God  because  he  feared  tbe  peo- 
ple, and  be  lived  to  bear  in  bitterness 
of  soul  tbe  people  acclaim  another  as 
greater  than  be.  He  lived  to  bear  that 
applause  which  was  tbe  very  breath  of 
bis  nostrils  bestowed  upon  a man  who 


21 


CHAKACTEB 


feared  God  more  than  he  feared  the 
people.  You  cannot  always  tell  what 
public  opinion  is;  you  never  can  tell 
what  it  is  going  to  he.  The  wiser  plan, 
as  well  as  the  most  honest  plan,  there- 
fore, is  carefully  and  conscientiously  to 
form  an  opinion  of  your  own,  and  then 
have  the  manhood  to  stand  by  it,  even 
though  you  stand  solitary  and  alone. 

I do  not  mean  by  this  that  you 
should  he  opinionated.  Don’t  he  too 
confident  that  every  opinion  that  you 
have  hastily  formed  is  so  absolutely 
and  unquestionably  correct  that  you  can 
afford  to  close  your  mind  to  all  further 
evidence  upon  the  subject.  Benjamin 
Franklin  once  said  that  as  he  grew 
older,  he  came  to  doubt  more  and  more 
his  own  infallibility  and  to  listen  with 


22 


CHARACTEE 


greater  respect  to  the  opinions  of  other 
men.  As  you  grow  older,  yon  will  find 
that  many  of  your  so-called  opinions 
were  hut  accidental  impressions  or  prej- 
udices, which  larger  knowledge  and 
wider  experience  would  require  you  to 
correct.  It  would  be  better  for  you  in 
the  earlier  years  of  your  life  to  be  re- 
ceptive and  reflective  rather  than  dispu- 
tatious. Polonius’  advice  to  Laertes 
should  he  laid  to  heart  by  every  young 
man,  “Take  each  man’s  censure,  hut  re- 
serve thy  judgment” — that  is,  thy  opin- 
ion. Keep  an  open  mind  always  for 
further  knowledge;  hut  let  your  search 
for  truih  he  fearless  and  sincere,  and 
never  for  the  sake  of  popularity  or  for 
the  sake  of  any  temporary  advantage 


23 


CHARACTER 


impose  upon  yonr  mind  an  opinion 
which  it  cannot  honestly  hold. 

Never  fear  to  he  on  the  side  of  good 
morals  and  honest  government.  Let  me 
tell  yon,  yonng  gentlemen,  that  the 
power  wielded  by  the  vicions  elements 
of  society  is  dne  only  to  the  dread  of 
that  power.  They  owe  their  strength 
and  their  protection  to  the  cowardice 
that  fears  to  assail  them.  That  men 
who  aspire  to  hear  the  respect  of  their 
fellow-men  shonld  consent  even  by  si- 
lence that  vice  and  crime  or  ignorance 
and  folly  shall  wield  political  power, 
that  they  shall  make  or  administer  the 
laws  in  any  commnnity,  is  a disgrace  to 
manhood  and  to  citizenship.  Yonng 
gentlemen,  this  world  needs  men.  Yonr 
conntry,  yonr  commnnity,  yonr  State, 


24 


CHARACTER 


need  men  who  will  stand  erect  in  the 
pride  of  their  own  integrity  and  oppose 
their  own  honor  to  all  the  powers  of 
evil. 

“ Be  bold,  be  just,  and  when  your  country’s  laws 
Call  you  to  witness  in  a dubious  cause. 
Though  Faleris  plant  his  bull  before  your  eye. 
And,  frowning,  dictate  to  your  lips  the  lie. 
Think  it  a crime  no  tears  can  e’er  efface 
To  purchase  safety  with  compliance  base. 

At  honor’s  cost  a feverish  span  extend 
And  sacrifice  for  life  life’s  only  end.” 

I have  sought  to  impress  upon  you 
the  importance  of  character,  because  too 
much  stress  is  often  laid,  relatively 
speaking,  on  the  mere  acquisition  of 
knowledge  and  the  improvement  of  the 
intellectual  power.  We  are  prone  to 
make  an  ideal  of  mere  intellectuality 
and  to  worship  it  as  a god.  We  are 


25 


CHARACTER 


in  the  habit  of  saying  that  ignorance  is 
the  mother  of  vice,  though  all  history 
and  everyday  experience  teach  us  that 
mere  culture  of  the  intellect  is  not  cul- 
ture of  the  heart,  and  that  often  mere 
difference  in  degrees  of  culture  simply 
mark  the  difference  between  the  vulgar 
and  the  accomplished  scoundrel,  between 
a Pagin  and  a Verres,  between  the  thief 
vdio  pilfers  from  a hatrack  and  the 
thief  who  plunders  a province. 

We  know  that  nations  have  risen  to 
the  noblest  heights  of  intellectual  great- 
ness while  stooping  to  the  lowest  depths 
of  moral  decay.  What  was  Greece  in 
the  time  of  Aristotle  and  Demosthenes, 
or  Rome  in  the  time  of  Cicero  and  Vir- 
gil? We  know  that  Bacon  was  one  of 
the  wisest  and  greatest,  yet  meanest,  of 


26 


CHARACTER 


mankind.  What  a commentary  it  is 
upon  the  dignity  of  human  intellect 
when  we  see  the  great  author  of  “No- 
vum Organum”  crawling  at  the  feet  of 
an  upstart  favorite  and  bartering  his 
country’s  liberties  to  win  a fatuous 
smile  from  a crowned  baboon!  Great 
philosopher,  profound  jurist,  fawning 
courtier,  and  bribe-taking  judge!  Did 
ever  human  intellect  soar  to  grander 
height  or  human  character  stoop  to 
meaner  depths? 

Even  the  light  of  Solomon’s  wisdom, 
though  it  was  the  direct  gift  of  Al- 
mighty God,  though  it  shone  down  upon 
him  direct  from  the  throne  of  heaven, 
could  not  keep  his  feet  from  the  paths 
of  sin  and  shame.  The  intellect  of  an 
archangel  could  not  save  Satan  from 


27 


CHAEACTER 


hell;  and  your  intellect  alone,  young 
gentlemen,  will  not  save  you,  even 
though  you  be  as  wise  as  Solomon  or 
as  smart  as  the  devil. 

"What  is  the  lesson  taught  by  that 
great  master  of  human  nature  in  the 
tragedy  of  Macbeth?  No  man  could 
have  realized  more  vividly  or  have  por- 
trayed with  more  pitiless  fidelity  the 
baseness  and  brutality  of  Duncan’s  mur- 
der than  did  Macbeth  himself  while  the 
purpose  was  yet  forming  in  his  mind. 
His  king,  his  kinsman,  his  guest,  and 
the  gentle  virtues  that  plead  like  an- 
gels, trumpet-tongued,  against  the  deep 
damnation  of  the  deed  — he  saw  and 
felt  and  understood  it  all.  Yea,  more; 
he  foresaw  that  his  own  peace  of  mind 

would  perish  with  the  murdered  Dun- 
2S 


CHAEACTER 


can;  that  the  golden  opinions  won  by 
loyal  valor,  the  love,  honor,  obedience, 
troops  of  friends,  would  vanish  forever 
and  would  be  succeeded  by  vain  splen- 
dor and  hollow  pomp,  an  enforced 
mouth-honor  and  hidden  hate,  in  his 
own  breast  a gnawing  conscience,  a 
dismal  world  weariness,  a loathing,  a 
disgust  for  life.  He  saw  and  felt  and 
understood  all  this;  but  he  dallied  with 
temptation,  he  gave  audience  to  evil 
promptings,  he  trifled  with  his  immor- 
tal soul,  and  went  with  open  eyes  to 
foreseen  destruction.  How  different  the 
conduct  of  the  brave  and  simple- 
hearted  Banquo,  who  prayed  to  be  de- 
livered even  from  those  evil  suggestions 
that  came  to  him  in  his  dreams! 

What  is  the  lesson*?  We  speak  of 


29 


CHARACTER 


the  “lordly  intellect,”  the  “Godlike 

reason;”  and  yet  this  “lordly  intellect,” 
this  “Godlike  reason,”  is  hut  the  ser- 
vant of  the  feelings;  it  is  hut  the  slave 
of  the  desires.  We  sometimes  say  of  a 
man  that  he  has  suffered  his  intellect 
to  become  the  slave  of  his  passions;  hut 
this  is  no  more  true  of  one  man  than  it 
is  of  another  — it  is  true  of  all  men. 
The  difference  is  only  in  the  character 
of  the  passion.  Washington  made  his 

intellect  serve  his  passion  for  liberty; 
Napoleon,  his  passion  for  fame;  Bacon, 
his  passion  for  court  favor;  Solomon, 

his  passion  for  luxury  and  splendor; 

the  devil,  his  passion  for  rule.  What- 
ever a man’s  master  passion  may  be, 
whether  it  he  the  accumulation  of  dol- 
lars, the  preservation  of  his  country,  or 


30 


CHAEACTER 


the  salvation  of  souls,  it  will  rule  his 
intellect  with  a rod  of  iron.  Whether 
it  he  low  and  mean  or  a hia:h  and 
mighty  intellect,  all  its  powers  will  he 
exerted  to  gratify  the  cravings  of  the 
heart. 

The  important  education,  therefore,  is 
that  which  disciplines  the  feelings, 
which  schools  the  desires.  You  may 
say  that  if  a man  is  taught  to  know 
the  consequences  of  right  and  wrong, 
he  will  do  right;  hut  who  knew  better 
than  Solomon  that  the  way  he  had 
chosen  was  vanity  of  vanities?  Such  is 
the  perversity  of  human  nature  that  a 
man  may  actually  know,  he  may  thor- 
oughly understand,  he  may  have  proved 
to  himself  by  hitter  experience  over 
and  over  again,  that  the  way  of  the 


31 


CHARACTEE 


transgressor  is  hard;  yet  he  will  con- 
tinue to  transgress.  He  may  give  his 
mental  assent  to  the  Golden  Rule,  and 
yet  remain  a hard  and  selfish  man. 
My  friends,  the  difference  between  an 
honest  man  and  a thief  is  not  in  what 
they  know  or  think,  but  in  how  they 
feel  on  the  subject  of  stealing.  If  all 
of  this  were  not  true,  philosophy  would 
long  since  have  taken  the  place  of  re- 
ligion and  Moses  would  have  been  the 
Christ. 

Every  young  man,  therefore,  should 
seek  to  reduce  to  order  what  has  been 
aptly  called  the  “inner  anarchy  of  de- 
sire.” “He  that  ruleth  his  spirit”  is 
greater  than  “he  that  taketh  a city.” 

In  this  education  of  the  heart,  every 
man  must  in  a large  measure  be  his 


32 


CHARACTER 


own  schoolmaster.  There  can  he  no 
greater  mistake  than  for  a young  man 
to  give  his  days  and  nights  to  extend- 
ing the  range  of  his  knowledge  and 
training  of  the  powers  of  his  intellect, 
while  leaving  his  character  to  take  care 
of  itself,  to  be  formed  without  thought 
or  plan  by  the  accidental  circumstances 
of  its  environment. 

“But  how,>”  you  ask,  “can  a man 
form  his  character?”  The  rule  is  sim- 
plicity itself,  though  the  application  be 
difficult.  A man  may  form  his  charac- 
ter to  a very  great  extent  through  the 
sheer  power  of  habit.  An  act  often  re- 
peated hardens  into  a habit,  and  a 
habit  long  continued  petrifies  into  char- 
acter. We  often  say  of  a man  that  he 
is  the  victim  of  a habit,  without  paus- 


33 


CHARACTER 


ing  to  analyze  and  understand  the  deep 
significance  of  the  expression.  ‘‘The 
victim  of  a habit”  — that  is  to  say,  not 
of  some  innate  or  inborn  propensity  to 
evil,  but  of  an  acquired  vice  — of  some 
vice  which  through  the  sheer  power  of 
use  over  the  mind  has  become  second 
nature  to  the  man  and  a part  of  his 
character.  Young  gentlemen,  a great 
deal  of  misery  may  he  spared  in  this 
world  if  young  men  would  only  realize 
in  the  beginning  how  much  easier  it  is 
to  do  a bad  act  a second  time  than  it 
is  to  do  it  the  first  time.  As  a bough 
that  has  once  been  bent  will  bend  the 
more  easily  in  the  same  direction  when 
subjected  to  the  same  force,  so  the  soul 
that  has  once  yielded  to  the  seductions 
of  evil  loses  something  of  its  power 


34 


CHAEACTER 


of  resistance.  On  tlie  other  hand, 
every  successful  resistance  of  tempta- 
tion strengthens  the  man  and  weakens 
the  power  of  evil.  Because  of  the  in- 
creased self-respect,  the  pride  and  pleas- 
ure derived  from  such  a victory,  he 
feels  himself  better  equipped  for  the 
combat  when  his  enemy  renews  the  at- 
tack. No  man  has  ever  overcome  a 
strong  temptation  that  he  has  not  found 
afterwards  that  his  mind  had  become 
more  open  and  susceptible  to  good  in- 
fluences and  suggestions  than  before. 
We  are  told  that  when  our  Savior  had 
resisted  the  temptations  of  the  devil,  an- 
gels came  and  ministered  unto  him;  and 
so  when  a young  man  puts  temptation 
under  his  feet,  purer  thoughts,  nobler 
resolves,  and  higher  aspirations  descend 


35 


CHARACTER 


like  angels  to  strengthen  and  refresh 
the  will. 

I would  impress  upon  you  that  a 
good  habit  may  become  as  potent  and 
controlling  as  a bad  habit.  A man  may 
become  the  slave  of  a good  habit,  as 
well  as  the  victim  of  a bad  habit. 
A man  may  conquer  a native  disposi- 
tion to  evil  by  simply  extorting  from 
himself  a course  of  conduct  contrary  to 
his  inclination  until  custom  has  made  it 
habitual  and  agreeahle;  for,  as  Hamlet 
said,  ‘‘use  can  almost  change  the  stamp 
of  nature.” 

But  you  must  cultivate  habits  of 
thought,  as  well  as  habits  of  action. 
“As  a man  think eth  in  his  heart,  so  is 
he.”  Yet  there  is  good  even  in  an  en- 
forced conformity  to  the  rules  of  right 


36 


CHARACTER 


living,  for  a habit  of  doing  will  help  to 
beget  a like  habit  of  thinking.  But  it 
must  he  something  more  than  passively 
refraining  from  evil.  No  man  ever  yet 
overcame  a habit  or  conquered  a temp- 
tation simply  by  folding  his  arms  and 
saying:  “T  will  not.”  He  must  drive 
it  from  his  path  and  out  of  his  life. 
He  must  put  it  not  only  from  his  hand, 
but  from  his  heart.  ‘‘Resist  the  devil, 
and  he  will  flee  from  you.”  But  you 
must  resist  him  as  Christian  did  Apoll- 
yon  — not  with  the  shield  only,  but 
with  the  sword.  There  is  nothing  truer 
than  that  an  idle  brain  is  the  devil’s 
workshoD.  To  resist  the  obsession  of 
evil  thoughts  is  sure  sooner  or  later  to 
lead  to  the  resistance  of  evil  deeds. 
Every  young  man  should  store  his  mind 


37 


CHARACTER 


from  Ms  conversation,  Ms  reading,  or 
his  observations,  with  innocently  agree- 
able and  instructive  subjects  of  con- 
templation to  which  he  may  turn  his 
thoughts  at  will  in  an  idle  or  unoccu- 
pied hour.  Nature  abhors  a vacuum, 
and  you  cannot  keep  vicious  thoughts 
from  rushing  into  an  empty  head.  You 
must  expel  them  or-  bar  their  entrance 
with  good  thoughts.  ‘‘Be  not  overcome 
of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good.” 
That  is  the  only  way  it  can  be  done. 
In  that  precept  is  the  true  philosophy 
of  right  living.  You  cannot  overcome 
evil  by  simply  resisting  evil;  you  must 
supplant  it.  You  may  uproot  all  your 
weeds  with  the  plow  or  bum  them  with 
fire;  but  if  your  fields  lie  fallow,  if 
they  be  not  sown  with  good  seed,  the 


38 


CHARACTER 


weeds  will  grow  again.  So  though  you 
may  think  you  have  extirpated  every 
bad  habit  from  your  life,  if  you  do  not 
plant  actively  good  habits  in  their 
place,  the  bad  habits  will  grow  again. 

While  I am  on  this  subject  of  habit, 
let  me  say  a few  words  on  a somewhat 
hackneyed  theme.  Don’t  imagine  that 
1 am  going  to  turn  this  into  a temper- 
ance lecture,  and  don’t  be  too  much 
disgusted  with  me  if  I insist  on  deal- 
ing in  matters  of  practical  advice  in- 
stead of  charming  you  with  flowing  pe- 
riods and  brilliant  imagery.  I had 
rather  leave  a thought  in  your  mind 
that  may  be  helpful  in  your  after  life 
than  to  win  your  admiration  and  ap- 
plause and  do  you  no  good.  All  the 
chances  are  that  some  of  you  young 
39 


CHARACTEE 


men  who  hear  me  to-day  will  go  out 
from  here  burning  with  high  hope  and 
eager  anticipation,  only  to  end  their  ca- 
reers in  a drunkard’s  grave.  Bright 
young  men  full  of  liveliness  of  spirit 
are  prone  to  conviviality;  and  in  that 
way,  young  gentlemen,  lies  danger.  I 
wish  I could  know  that  not  one  of  you 
would  ever  take  me  drinh.  Many  a 
man,  you  say,  drinks  habitually  with  no 
perceptible  harm;  and  that  is  true. 
But  many  another  cannot  drink  without 
drinking  to  excess;  and  many  another 
cannot  drink  without  becoming  a sot,  a 
vagabond,  or  a criminal.  There  are 
these  three  classes  of  drinkers,  and  you 
will  never  know  to  which  class  you  be- 
long until  you  have  taken  your  first 
drink.  Let  no  one  tell  you  that  any 


40 


CHARACTER 


man  of  real  strength  can  control  his 
appetite.  I have  known  men  — masterful, 
strong-willed  men  — who  could  not.  Al- 
exander of  Macedon  died  a victim  of 
strong  drink;  and  if  I were  you,  I 
would  not  be  too  eager  to  join  battle 
with  the  conqueror  of  the  conqueror  of 
the  world.  You  may  hear  it  said  that 
‘‘strong  drink  lends  brightness  to  the 
intellect  and  courage  to  the  heart;”  but 
no  really  sensible  man  or  brave  man 
needs  to  carry  his  brains  in  a bottle 
or  buy  his  courage  by  the  jug,  and,  so 
far  as  I know,  there  is  no  case  on  rec- 
ord of  a fool  having  found  wisdom  at 
the  bottom  of  a glass  of  whisky  or  of 
a sober  coward  becoming  a drunken 
hero.  ‘ I give  you  my  candid  opinion, 
young  gentlemen,  that  there  is  nothing 


41 


CHARACTER 


in  this  world  that  a man  cannot  do 
better  without  whisky  than  he  can  with 
it,  except  get  drunk.  If  you  have 
started  out  to  do  that,  it  will  help  you 
some.  Now,  I beg  your  pardon  for  this 
digression;  and  I will  only  say,  in  con- 
cluding the  subject,  that  if  you  follow 
my  advice  there  will  never  be  an  hour 
in  all  your  lives  in  which  you  will  re- 
gret it.  If  you  don’t  follow  my  advice, 
some  of  you  will  surely  regret  it  in 
rags  and  poverty,  in  shame  and  dis- 
honor, in  sorrow  and  bitterness  of  soul. 

You  are  going  into  the  world,  young 
gentlemen,  and  you  are  going  with 
bright  hopes  and  eager  anticipations.  I 
don’t  wish  to  discourage  you,  hut  I feel 
that  I ought  to  warn  you  that  the 
world  which  now  seems  so  rosy  will  get 


42 


CHARACTER 


very  drab  before  you  bave  looked  at  it 
long.  Many  a young  man  gets  dis- 
heartened early  in  life  because  the 
world  turns  out  to  be  so  different  from 
what  he  expected,  and  the  fame  and 
fortune  which  he  expected  to  find  wait- 
ing for  him  with  open  arms  at  the 
schoolhouse  door  seem  so  distant,  so 
fugitive,  so  elusive.  It  has  been  said 
that  ‘‘for  life  in  general  there  is  but 
one  decree  — youth  is  a blunder;  man- 
hood, a struggle;  age,  a regret.”  This 
/ 

does  not  seem  to  present  a very  at- 
tractive prospect,  but  it  is  better  for 
you  that  the  gay  color  of  your  hope  be 
sobered  by  solemn  warnings  of  the  per- 
ils that  lie  before  you.  Yet  success  is 
within  the  reach  of  all.  There  may  be 
a few  who  are  bom  to  misfortune,  a 


43 


CHARACTER 


few  who  have  misfortune  thrust  upon 
them,  but  a great  majority  of  those 
who  fail  achieve  their  own  misfortune. 
The  great  secret  is  to  begin  right.  You 
are  this  very  day  at  the  crisis  of  your 
fate.  Every  young  man  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  career  stands  at  the  cross 
roads  of  life  where  the  choosing  of  di- 
rections is  perilous.  The  chances  are 
that  he  will  follow  to  the  end  the  way 
he  first  takes.  Though  he  may  discover 
after  choosing  wrong  the  error  of  his 
way,  he  must  retrace  his  steps  and  be- 
gin again  when  footsore  and  weary  and 
the  day  is  far  spent.  It  is  difficult, 
but  it  is  important  for  you  to  realize 
the  awful  brevity  of  life  as  compared 
with  its  work  and  duties.  You  hear  it 
said  that  '^^nnua’  men  must  sow  their  wild 


44 


CHARACTER 


oats.  I say  to  you  that  this  is  but  a mis- 
erable apology  for  wickedness  and  folly. 
The  world  has  no  use  for  your  wild 
oats  and  you  have  no  time  to  sow  them. 
If  you  begin  sowing  wild  oats,  the 
chances  are  that  you  will  never  sow 
and  never  reap  anything  else.  The 
sooner  you  begin  to  contemplate  life  as 
a serious  matter,  the  better.  You  have 
absolutely  no  time  to  lose.  Every  pe- 
riod of  your  life  has  its  own  peculiar 
work  which  will  be  the  foundation  upon 
which  to  build  the  next.  You  have  a 
work  to  do  in  the  next  ten  years, 
which,  if  done  well,  will  smooth  the 
road  to  fortune.  If  not  done  then,  if 
you  spend  the  next  ten  years  in  idle- 
ness or  play,  you  may  depend  upon  it 
that  you  will  never  have  time  to  play 


45 


CHARACTER 


afterwards.  The  men  who  succeed  in 
this  world  are  the  men  who  utilize  to 
the  utmost  the  energy  and  enthusiasm 
of  their  youth. 

Don’t  go  out  into  the  world  expect- 
ing to  find  great  opportunities  lying  in 
wait  for  you.  These  may  never  come. 
It  may  he  that  your  lot  is  to  he  cast 
in  the  common ' walks  of  life.  But  that 
doesn’t  mean  that  you  are  doomed  to 
failure,  if  you  know  what  it  is  to  suc- 
ceed. You  may  be  happy  and  you  may 
make  others  happy.  You  may  be  a 
good  and  useful  citizen  and  spread 
abroad  the  blessing  of  a good  example. 
Go  forth  determined  to  do  your  duty 
as  you  find  it.  Remember  that  it  is  in 
the  little  things  of  life  that  men  fail, 
it  is  in  the  little  things  of  life  that 


46 


CHARACTEE 


men  succeed,  it  is  tlie  little  things  of 
life  that  make  life.  Only  to  the  few  is 
given  the  chance  to  do  great  and  shin- 
ing deeds,  to  link  their  fame  with  some 
mighty  achievement.  But  to  every  man 
it  has  been  given  to  act  well  his  part  — 
to  perform  the  many  duties,  each  sim- 
ple in  itself,  hut  whose  sum  is  vast, 
whose  effects  are  enduring.  You  may 
not  climb  to  brilliant  heights  of  glory, 
hut  you  can  glorify  the  common  way  of 
life  and  make  the  lowliest  path  shine 
as  with  light  from  heaven. 

Have  you  ever  read  attentively  the 
parable  of  the  talents?  “Because  thou 
hast  been  faithful  in  a very  little,  have 
thou  authority  over  ten  cities.”  “Be- 
cause thou  hast  been  faithful  in  a very 
little”  — do  you  suppose  that  this  par- 


47 


CHAEACTER 


able  teaches  simply  the  generosity  of 
the  master  in  bestowing  a reward  out 
of  proportion  to  the  value  of  the  serv- 
ice or  to  the  merit  of  the  servant? 
No;  the  story  is  of  an  austere  man,  of 
one  who  has  managed  his  affairs  with 
prudence,  and  chose  his  servants  with 
care,  and  exacted  of  them  the  full 
measure  of  tlieir  duty.  He  needed  a 
man;  he  had  been  looking  about  him  to 
find  a man  who  had  the  capacity  to 
rule  over  ten  cities,  and,  with  a true 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  he  found 
him  in  the  servant  who  by  his  zeal,  dil- 
igence, and  fidelity  in  small  matters,  had 
proved  himself  equal  to  high  duties  and 
great  responsibilities.  Such  is  the  les- 
son of  the  parable,  and  such  is  the  les- 
son of  life.  It  'is  only  those  who  do 


48 


CHARACTER 


the  little  things  well  who  ever  prepare 
themselves  for  the  performance  of  great 
things,  and  these  only  are  visited  by 
great  opportunities.  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte was  perhaps  the  greatest  com- 
mander of  armies  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  History  teds  us  again  and  again 
how  he  observed  some  little  act  of  a 
common  soldier  — an  act  which  an  or- 
dinary commander  would  have  passed 
with  little  notice;  but  this  great  demo- 
cratic despot,  with  his  great  insight 
into  human  character,  looked  upon  that 
little  act  of  the  common  soldier  and 
said:  “Here  is  a man  who  is  fit  to  be 
a Marshal  of  France.”  And  thus  is 
true  greatness  of  soul  revealed  in  the 
most  commonplace  incidents  of  life. 
My  friends,  the  clear  head,  the  brave 


49 


CHARACTER 


heart,  the  pure  and  upright  character, 
are  needed  in  the  affairs  of  the  neigh- 
borhood as  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation. 
But  whether  you  walk  the  mountain 
ranges  of  human  greatness  or  whether 
your  habitation  he  in  the  lowly  valleys 
below,  the  duties  of  life  will  call  for 
the  very  best  that  is  in  your  mind, 
heart,  and  soul; 

You  will  fail  or  succeed  in  life 
through  your  relations  with  your  fel- 
low-men. Don’t  expect  too  much  of  hu- 
man nature.  All  the  world  is  not 
young,  all  the  world  is  not  just  out  of 
school,  and  many  you  will  meet  who 
have  been  calloused  or  corrupted  by 
their  hard  contact  with  the  facts  of 
life.  But  don’t  become  cynical  or  lose 
faith  in  your  kind.  God  Almighty 


50 


CHAEACTEE 


made  man;  lie  breathed  into  bis  nos- 
trils tbe  breath  of  life,  and  there  is  yet 
something’  of  the  breath  of  God  in 
every  human  soul.  Human  nature  is 
not  vile,  except  to  the  vile.  To  the 
mean  man  this  is  indeed  a mean  world. 
To  the  selfish  man  it  turns  its  selfish 
side.  The  faithless  and  inconstant  man 
finds  faithless  and  inconstant  friends. 
The  world  shows  itself  to  every  man 
just  as  he  shows  himself  to  the  world. 
It  is  a mighty  mirror  in  which  every 
one  sees  his  own  image  and  calls  it 
man. 

Let  me  impress  upon  you,  therefore, 
not  to  be  too  swift  in  forming  harsh 
judgments  upon  your  fellow-men.  As 
you  go  through  life,  it  will  be  your 
fate  over  and  over  again  to  be  misun- 


51 


CHARACTEE 


derstood,  to  suffer  from  harsh  misjudg- 
ments.  Let  that  teach  you  to  be  char- 
itable in  your  judgment  of  others.  The 
man  whose  judgment  leans  to  the  side 
of  charity  will  be  less  often  mistaken 
than  he  who  leans  to  the  side  of  sever- 
ity. Remember,  too,  that  the  world 
shows  little  mercy  to  the  man  who  him- 
self is  merciless  in  his  judgment. 

“With  what  judgment  ye  judge  ye 
shall  he  judged.”  Show  no  tenderness 
for  human  depravity,  but  be  ever  char- 
itable to  human  weakness.  Edgar  Allan 
Poe  once  said  you  could'  call  a thief  an 
honest  man  until  he  became  so.  This 
is,  of  course,  a poetic  exaggeration;  hut 
it  contains  the  germ  of  truth,  for  even 
in  the  worst  of  men  there  is  something 
good  which  may  respond  to  the  proper 


52 


CHARACTER 


appeal  — a ^ood  which,  recognized  and 
stimulated,  may  finally  obtain  the  mas- 
tery over  the  worse  parts  of  his  nature. 
At  any  rate,  you  will  he  a happier  man 
for  thinking  well  of  your  neighbor,  and 
your  neighbor  will  be  a better  man  for 
knowing  he  is  not  utterly  despised. 

While  thus  giving  your  main  thought 
to  the  inner  man,  you  must  not  neg- 
lect the  outer  graces.  Good  manners, 
a gentle  bearing  toward  others,  unfail- 
ing courtesy  and  politeness,  will  do 
much  to  smooth  your  road  to  fortune; 
but  remember  always  that^  the  soul  of 
good  manners  is  a kind  heart.  No  man 
can  truly  have  the  manners  of  a gen- 
tleman who  is  not  a gentleman  at 
heart.  And  the  heart  that  really  over- 

fiows  with  good  feeling  will  lend  a 
53 


CHARACTEE 


grace  and  gentleness  which,  no  school 
of  culture  could  give,  I wish  you 
would  let  the  thought  sink  deep  into 
your  hearts  that  apart  from  the  inner 
luxury  of  doing  good,  which,  after  all, 
is  the  highest  earthly  happiness,  there 
is  nothing  that  repays  such  heavy  ma- 
terial interest  as  the  little  acts  and 
words  of  kindness  which  you  may  scat- 
ter about  you  without  special  effort  as 
you  go  along.  ‘‘Cast  thy  bread  uplon 
the  waters:  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after 
many  days;”  and  often  when  you  have 
only  cast  a crumb  you  will  find  a loaf. 

Do  not  undervalue  nor  overvalue  the 
material  things  of  life.  Every  young 
man  should  try  to  accumulate  enough 
of  this  world’s  goods  to  deliver  him 
from  those  distressing  cares  and  anx- 


54 


CHARACTEE 


ieties  that  wear  out  life,  and  that  sense 
of  dependence  on  the  favor  of  others 

which  impairs  self-respect.  But  beware, 
above  all  things,  of  that  base  passion 
for  money  which  is  the  root  of  all  evil. 
If  you  have  set  your  heart  upon  get- 
ting rich,  if  you  have  determined  that 
at  any  cost  you  will  he  rich,  the 

chances  are  that  you  will  succeed.  I 
never  knew  a man  whose  whole  soul 
was  possessed  by  greed  for  gain  who 

didn’t  get,  it. 

If  you  are  willing  that  every  faculty 
of  your  mind,  that  every  emotion  of 
your  heart,  shall  stoop  to  the  low  level 
of  this  one  base  desire,  if  you  are  will- 
ing to  be  rich  and  despised  and  mean, 
you  can  succeed.  There  was  once  a 

man  walking  along  the  highway  who 

55 


CHARACTER 


found  a coin  lying  in  the  dirt,  and 
ever  afterwards  throughout  the  course 
of  a long  life  as  he  walked  along  the 
road  he  kept  his  eyes  upon  the  dirt, 
hoping  to  find  another  coin.  The  flow- 
ers that  bloomed  by  the  wayside,  the 
rippling  waters,  the  singing  birds,  the 

pleasant  meadows,  the  fair  waving 

1 

trees,  were  all  lost  to  him;  and  when 
at  last  he  died,  a rich  old  man  with 
a chest  full  of  gold,  he  had  never  seen 
anything  of  this  fair  and  beautiful 
world  except  a dirty  road  in  which  to 
pick  up  dirty  money. 

Above  all  things,  young  gentlemen, 
put  your  whole  soul  into  your  work. 
'‘Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do, 
do  it  with  thy  might.”  Be  earnest. 
All  things  are  possible  for  a man  who 


56 


CHARACTER 


is  in  earnest.  There  was  an  old  su- 
perstition that  if  the  hunter  would  dip 
the  point  of  his  arrow  in  his  own  blood, 
it  would  go  unerringly  to  the  mark. 
If  you  wish  your  thought,  your  pur- 
pose, your  etforts,  to  succeed,  let  them 
he  dipped,  as  it  were,  in  the  very  blood 
of  your  heart.  A man  of  moderate  tal- 
ents, but  who  is  in  dead  earnest,  is  an 
overmatch  for  cunning,  for  talent,  for 
genius  itself. 

If  you  have  prepared  your  minds  and 
nerved  your  hearts  to  meet  the  world, 
you  will  find  work  and  opportunity  in 
abundance.  There  never  was  a time 
m.ore  propitious  for  intellectual  achieve- 
ment than  now.  The  world  has  out- 
lived the  last  vestige  of  that  tyranny 

over  the  mind  which  for  centuries  nar- 
57 


CHARACTER 


rowed  and  confined  the  range  of  intel- 
lectual freedom.  The  minds  of  men 
have  at  last  overpowered  their  keepers. 
Thought  is  no  longer  the  bondman  of 
dogma,  no  longer  servant  of  kings,  no 
longer  a patient  ass  for  the  priest  to 
ride.  It  is  a fearless  knight  errant,  ex- 
ploring every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
world  of  knowledge  and  lifting  its  keen 
lance  against  the  most  cherished  faiths 
and  traditions  of  the  past.  There  is 
no  longer  a tree  of  knowledge  whose 
fruit  we  are  forbidden  to  eat,  no  longer 
a sacred  ground  whose  precincts  we  are 
forbidden  to  enter.  There  are  those 
who  tremble  at  the  licentious  freedom 
of  modern  inquiry;  and  we  may  in- 
deed deplore  that  lack  of  reverence  for 
old  faiths  and  traditions  which  is  the 


CHARACTEE 


great  anchor  of  popular  government. 
But  we  may  pardon  something  to  the 
spirit  of  liberty  and  need  never  fear 
for  cause  of  truth.  The  licentiousness 
of  modem  thought  is  like  a stream 
which,  having  burst  the  artificial  har- 
riers which  long  impeded  its  course, 
pours  forth  a devastating  tide  until, 
having  wasted  its  flood,  it  sinks  again 
into  its  channel,  and,  with  steady  flow 
and  even  current,  moves  onward  to  the 
sea. 

Finally,  let  me  remind  you  that  you 
have  not  only  a life  to  live,  hut  a soul 
to  save.  Many  young  men  seem  to 
think  it  evidence  of  intellectual  freedom 
to  question  the  traths  of  the  Bible  or 
the  existence  of  a divine  Providence.  I 
dispute  no  man’s  freedom  of  opinion. 


59 


CHARACTER 


though  why  any  one  should  he  willing 
to  believe  that  man  has  no  preeminence 
above  a beast  I do  not  know.  You 
say  that  you  cannot  believe  the  miracle 
of  the  resurrection.  Let  me  tell  you 
the  story  of  a greater  miracle  than 
that.  It  is  the  story  of  a poor  peasant, 
a member  of  a despised  and  subject 
race,  himself  despised,  the  very  place 
of  his  birth  despised,  even  by  his  own 
countrymen.  With  a few  ignorant  fol- 
lowers he  went  forth  to  teach.  There 
was  nothing  in  his  gospel  attractive  to 
the  carnal  man.  So  far  as  this  world 
was  concerned,  poverty  and  self-sacri- 
fice, scorn  and  contumely,  persecution, 
strife,  and  death,  were  all  that  he  of- 
fered to  his  followers.  He  never  wrote 
a line  except  some  forgotten  words 


60 


CHARACTEE 


which  he  traced  with  his  finger  upon 
the  sand.  He  scattered  his  precepts 
abroad  and  left  them  to  memories  of 
men.  In  a little  while  he  died  a fel- 
on’s death,  and  all  the  world  about  him 
forgot  that  he  had  ever  lived.  Yet 
somehow  his  words  lived  on.  Philoso- 
phy, with  all  its  wisdom;  priestcraft, 
with  all  its  terrors;  kings  wielding  the 
iron  power  of  all  the  world,  united  to 
resist  and  to  destroy  the  strange,  mys- 
terious power  which  this  dead  peasant 
had  left  behind  him  in  the  world. 
But  over  armies,  over  empires,  over 
dying  dynasties  and  crumbling  thrones, 
through  rivers  of  blood  and  seas  of  fire, 
that  power  swept  on  and  on  until  it 
had  made  conquest  of  the  earth,  until 
every  king  on  every  throne  hows  in  ad- 


CHARACTEE 


oration  to  the  dead  peasant  of  Gialilee, 
and  the  very  instmment  of  his  felon’s 
death  has  become  the  symbol  of  salva- 
tion to  all  mankind.  Do  you  believe 
that  story?  It  is,  to  me,  the  story  of 
a greater  miracle  than  that  a man  died 
and  arose  again  from  the  dead.  Young 
gentlemen,  he  not  you  among  those 
who  scolf  at  religion,  which  is  the  last 
hope  of  the  world,  whose  consolation 
you  yourself  will  need  in  the  time  of 
affliction  and  in  the  hour  of  death. 

“ When  ranting  round  in  pleasure’s  ring, 
Religion  may  be  blinded. 

Or  if  she  gie  a random  sting, 

It  may  be  little  minded; 

But  when  on  life  we’re  tempest  driven, 

A conscience  but  a canker, 

A correspondence  fixed  wi’  heaven 
Is  sure  a noble  anchor.” 


62 


CHARACTER 


And  now,  ladies,  I nmst  not  close 
withont  a word  to  you.  Woman  is 
happily  exempt  from  most  of  the 
grosser  temptations  that  beset  her 
brother  man,  and  nature  has  endowed 
her  with  a spirit  of  reverence  and 
of  faith  which  comforts  and  sustains 
where  the  courage  of  man  would  falter 
and  his  strength  would  fail.  However 
vain  and  frivolous  she  may  seem,  to 
nearly  every  woman  there  comes  with 
wifehood  and  motherhood  a deep  sense 
of  responsibility  and  consecration  to 
duty. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  world 
knows  nothing  of  its  greatest  men.  It 
surely  knows  nothing  of  its  greatest 
women.  They  are  around  and  about 

us,  in  cottage  and  in  hovel,  where  the 
63 


CHARACTEE 


lean  hand  of  poverty  breaks  the  ashen 
crust,  and  in  the  stateliest  homes  of 
luxury  and  pride. 

When  a man’s  dreams  have  vanished 
and  his  Lopes  have  died,  he  is  apt  to 
become  a hater  of  the  world  and  of  his 
kind.  The  woman  can  sit  amid  the 
wreck  and  ruin  of  her  vanished  castles 
in  the  air  with  a heart  warmed  by  love 
and  sustained  by  faith. 

There  are  among  the  humblest  women 
in  the  humblest  homes  examples  of  a 
diviner  heroism  than  that  of  Joan  of 
Arc  when  she  led  her  mail-clad  war- 
riors to  battle;  of  heroines,  all  uncon- 
scious of  their  heroism,  who  walked 
with  bleeding  feet  the  stony  paths  of 
martyrdom,  unseen,  unknown,  and  un- 
praised of  men. 


64 


CHARACTEE 


And  do  not  imagine  that  you  must 
wait  for  marriage  to  find  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  life.  Men  to-day 
are  as  responsive,  for  good  or  for  evil, 
to  the  influence  of  woman  as  when 
knighthood  was  in  flower.  Many  a man 
has  been  led  by  woman’s  wiles  into  the 
jaws  of  death  and  the  mouth  of  hell, 
and  many  a man  has  turned  from  the 
downward  path  of  death  to  follow  the 
shining  raiment  of  the  pure  woman  he 
loved  until  they  passed  through  glory’s 
morning  gate  and  walked  in  paradise. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  it  is  not  the 
throned  and  sceptered  king,  it  is  not 
the  dark  statesman  with  his  midnight 
lamp,  it  is  not  the  warrior  grimed  with 
smoke  and  stained  with  blood;  it  is  the 
queen  of  the  home  who  under  God 


65 


CHAEACTER 


rules  the  destinies  of  mankind.  There 
is  the  center  from  which  radiates  the 
light  that  never  fails.  I say  to  you 
that  the  sweetest  wisdom  of  this  world 
is  a woman’s  counsel,  and  the  purest 
altar  from  which  human  prayer  ever 
went  to  heaven  is  a mother’s  knee. 

66 


Date  Due 


P.5-.W  1] 

uioT  A 

Quat'^  ' 

J"i!3’aiit 

Oct'V^’40 

' 1 

1 

m^i  .11 1 

M. 

'to  4 

nFP  1 a '41 

JAN  1 9 m 

Airm 

JjUaJ 

M s m 

OCT  1 0 

MAY  2 6 *5 

wnv  2 6 ’51, 

^EC  3 ISlfi  ' 

|';U 

N20l799gi.0a 


